The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-23
A, Beecher's head; B. Mrs. II. W. Beecher
c, Miss Hattie Scoyllle; D, Miss Kate Beecher |;
+ Desk r Rook Case. q Sofa

a, beecnets nead b, Mrs. Ii. w. Beecher !;
E, Desk; F, Book Case; G, Sofa.
Mr.. Beecher was breathing in slow, labored
way. His face was flushed and his ewes
were only partly closed. He was still uncon-
scious, and it was evident that his death
would be painless one
Mrs. Beecher sat at the head of the bed. Her
sons, Henry B. and William c., sat at her
right; Mrs Scoville, her daughter, was next;
then the grandchildren, Henry Ward, Jr., the
Misses Hattie and Daisy, children of Henry
3. Beecher, and the Misses Hattie and Annie
Scoville, next. Dr. Searle sat on the other
side intently watching his patient. Mr. and
Mrs. ,scoville stood at the foot OF
the bed, Behind them were Mary
and Bella, the housemaids who
have been in the Beecher family for many
years; Bel, the old Scotch woman, who has
nursed all the children Of the Beecher family.
d kiordan, the tr aimed nurse. employed for
Mr.. Beechtrs sickness. The only member of
the dying preachers family not present was
his son Herbert, who was in the West, hasten
ing homeward.
At daylight Congressman S. Y. White, Mr..
Beechers near FRIEND and Mrs. White had
arrived at the house, and soor. afterward the
gray-haired assistant pastor of Plymouth,
the Rev. S. Y. Halliday, came. A o'clock
Dr. Lyman Abbott, Of the Christian Union,
and Mr.. E. A. Seccomb and wife, of New
York, life long friends of the Beecher family,
were admitted. These were all the witnesses
of the last scene.
Mrs. Beecher took hold of her husbands
hand and spoke to him, but there was no re-
sponse by touch or uttered word. Mr.. Beecher
was dying as he had SO often expressed q wish
to die-a speedy and painless death. As the
moments passed his breathing became shorter
and fainter.
Every one of the mournful party atthe bed
side wept aloud, save Mrs. Beecher. Tears
trickled down her pale cheeks, Int to the end
she preserved the calm, heroic self-possession
that has excited such frequent comment since
Mr.. Beecher was stricken down. She again
sought to obtain some acknowledgement
from her husband that he recognized
her, and again none came She kissed
his feeble lips and softly bade him good-by q
moment before he breathed out his life.
The end came softly. The great preacher
fell away without a spasm or a throe His
breathing decreased imperceptibly almost, his
pulse grew weak and weaker. Then came
q moment when there was no more
life. None of those eagerly waiting
and weeping around the deathbed could
have told the exact instant, all passed so
gently. But DR.. Searle, watch in hand, stand
ing at the bed and holding the pulse of his
great patient, finally said: 1.-THE end is
here" The fingers of time on the dial
marked exactly $50 o'clock. Mrs. Beechcr
remained an instant, and, for the first
time, sobbed aloud once. She pressed
her husbands eyelids down, and kissed the
dead lips. Then she, too, burying her face in
her hands, went from the death chamber.
The family,s fears that when the end should
come Mrs. Beecher would break down ut
terly were not realized. She went to her
room, where her sons and daughter sur
rounded and comforted her.
As soon as the announcement of Mr..
Beecher's death was made public the Brook
lyn City Hall bell began tolling, and soon tele-
grams of sympathy from public men in all
parts of the country and from abroad came
pouring into the house of mourning. Hun
dreds of citizens came to the house in car
riagcs and on foot to express their sorrow
to the friends and relatives of the family
The New York State Senate passed resolu-
tions of regret and Immediately adjourned.
Shortly after Mr. Beechers death his body
was embalmed, and plaster cast of the face
was taken for a statue to be placed in Pros
pect Park, Brooklyn.